Croatia showdown: 'Croatian Trump' faces off with ruling party
In the first round of the presidential elections in Croatia, the most votes, 49.1%, were garnered by the "Croatian Trump," Zoran Milanović, the incumbent president. In the second round, he will compete against Dragan Primorac, the candidate of the ruling party.
Results from 99.9% of the electoral commissions show: Zoran Milanović received 49.1% of the votes. Dragan Primorac came in second, with 19.41% of voters casting their votes for him. Both candidates will face off in the decisive round on Sunday, January 12.
Milanović, the current president of Croatia seeking re-election, promised in yesterday's speech to shape "a Croatia that takes care of its interests and is aware that only we take care of what happens in our country."
"During his five-year term that expires on Feb. 18, Milanovic, a former prime minister, has clashed with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic over foreign and public policy and has fiercely criticised the European Union and NATO over their support for Ukraine," writes Reuters. Although, as prime minister, he contributed to Croatia's accession to the EU and was regarded as a progressive politician, in recent years, his populist rhetoric and pro-Kremlin stance earned him the nickname "Croatian Trump."
Whom will Milanović face in the second round?
Dragan Primorac is a candidate from HDZ, the center-right ruling party in Croatia, led by Andrej Plenković. "Croatian experts believe that his victory would unify the president's stance with the government's policy," reports TVN 24. Ivan Grdešić, a professor of political science at the University of Zagreb, however, believes that Primorac "is not charismatic enough" to have a larger appeal to people."
Croatian citizens, however, have more reasons to be wary of the HDZ candidate, such as his involvement in the scandal surrounding Health Minister Vili Beroš, who was arrested on corruption charges. He is one of 30 ministers who lost their positions due to similar accusations.
Third election in Croatia this year
In third place in the elections was an independent candidate, Marija Selak Raspudić, who received 9.24% of the votes, followed by Ivana Kekin from the left-wing party We Can! with 8.86% of the votes. Other candidates received the following number of votes: independent Tomislav Jonjić - 5.06%, right-wing Most candidate Miro Bulj - 3.82%, Branka Lozo from the Home and National Assembly - 2.41%, and independent Niko Tokić Kartelo - 0.88%.
The position of the president of Croatia is mainly symbolic. The president cannot veto laws but has an influence on foreign policy, defense, and security matters.
"Sunday’s presidential election was Croatia’s third vote this year, following a snap parliamentary election in April and the European Parliament election in June," recalls Politico.
